Reji Martin has used the tools of today to remember the battles of the past. In this collection of 'Virtual' oil pastels, the terrible beauty of people and places involved in war has been caught using a computer program.

When Canada join World War II, the nursing service was expanded to all three branches of the military; Navy, Army and Air Force. Each branch had its own distinctive uniform and working dress, while all wore the Nursing Sister's white veil and were commissioned officers. The Sisters travelled overseas by ship in convoys, running the gauntlet of German submarine action in the North Atlantic.

Alexander Smith Jr. earned his Military Cross in France in September 1916 during the second Allied assault on the Somme. When the war ended, he was also named an Officer of the Order of the Black Star, a Polish order, one of only five Canadians to receive this honour. His younger brother, Charles Denton Smith earned his Military Cross in Mons Belgium and received it in France on November 9, 1918 - two days before the war ended.

Cargo ships produced under the Canadian program that were constructed for Canada and the Commonwealth were named after federal, provincial and municipal parks. The Park ships began arriving in 1942 and quickly became the dominant element of the World War II merchant fleet.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of the Second World War continuing unbroken from the first day of the war, September 3, 1939, to the last day of the war in Europe, May 8, 1945. All told the history of the Merchant Navy in Canada's wars is one of fortitude, courage and achievement. The ships and the volunteers who served in them made the difference between victory and defeat for the Allies. Fortress Europe could not have been invaded without them.

Table of contents for the online version of the booklet written by Patricia Giesler and Veterans Affairs Canada. It deals with the activities of the Canadian Navy during the First and Second World Wars.

The very outcome of World War I depended on the successful transport of troops and goods over the oceans. Shipping troops, munitions, horses, supplies and other provisions, was a major component of Canada's naval effort and taxed Canadian resources to the limit. From an average of 45,000 tonnes of cargo a month in 1915, shipping from Canada would increase to 351,000 tonnes a month in 1918.